Cheesy Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers
with Pico de Gallo & Smoky Red Pepper Crema
- Milk
Stuffed peppers are one of our all-time favorite comforting dinners—they’re sweet, savory, hearty, and endlessly customizable with different fillings and toppings. For this Tex-Mex riff on the Italian classic, you’ll toss quinoa in a richly-spiced tomato sauce, then stuff into the peppers, blanket everything with Mexican cheeses, and broil until melty. Top ’em up with smoky red pepper crema, pico de gallo, and hot sauce, then load up your fork with the perfect bite.
Ingredients
2 unit
Green Bell Pepper
1 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Red Onion
½ cup
Tri-Colored Quinoa
1 unit
Tomato Paste
4 tablespoon
Smoky Red Pepper Crema
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Tomato
1 unit
Lime
1 unit
Tex-Mex Paste
1 tablespoon
Southwest Spice Blend
¼ ounce
Cilantro
½ cup
Mexican Cheese Blend
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
Not included in your delivery
5 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. • Place quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse for 1 minute. Add to a small pot along with 1 cup water (2 cups for 4 servings), stock concentrate, Southwest Spice, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until quinoa is tender, 15-20 minutes. • Keep covered off heat for at least 10 minutes or until ready to use in step 4.
• While quinoa cooks, wash and dry all produce. • Halve bell peppers lengthwise; remove stems and seeds. Finely dice tomato. Halve and peel onion; dice one half. Mince some diced onion until you have 1 TBSP. (For 4 servings, dice whole onion; mince until you have 2 TBSP.) Quarter lime. Finely chop cilantro.
• Rub each bell pepper half with a drizzle of oil; season with salt and pepper. Place cut sides down on a baking sheet. • Roast on middle rack until browned and softened, 18-20 minutes. • Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine tomato, minced onion, and juice from half the lime. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium, preferably ovenproof, pan (use a large pan for 4 servings) over medium-high heat. Add diced onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes. • Stir in Tex-Mex paste, tomato paste, and ¼ cup water (1⁄3 cup for 4) until combined. Turn off heat. • Once quinoa has rested off heat for at least 10 minutes, stir into sauce along with half the cilantro until thoroughly combined.
• Once bell peppers are done, remove sheet from oven and heat broiler to high. • Stuff each pepper half with as much filling as will fit. Place in pan with remaining filling, nestling each stuffed pepper into filling. (TIP: If your pan isn’t ovenproof, transfer extra filling and stuffed peppers to a small baking dish.) Sprinkle evenly with Mexican cheese. • Broil until cheese is melted and lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. TIP: Watch carefully to avoid burning.
• Divide remaining filling between plates and top with stuffed peppers. Top peppers with smoky red pepper crema, pico de gallo, and remaining cilantro. Drizzle with hot sauce if desired. Serve with remaining lime wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the smoky, spicy Tex-Mex flavors; some found it surprisingly delicious and didn't miss the meat 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: Several noted it was easy to make, though a few mentioned multiple steps or dishes to wash.
- Suggestions: Consider adding black beans or ground meat for extra protein; some preferred red or yellow peppers over green.
- Portions: Filling and satisfying for most; a few wished for larger peppers or more quinoa to stuff.
- Texture: The quinoa filling had a meaty texture that impressed many; some suggested adding a crunchy element.
Reviews from our home cooks
I would not have picked this, but it was very good. I did not create the pico de gallo, and in fact was confused on the recipe since quinoa was to be added to sauce, and filling was the label of items in pan and no label for items in bowl (bowl ended up being the pico de gallo). So a little lost in instructions in recipe. But once figured out that quinoa added to pan of onions/tomato paste/TexMex paste/water - okay. Oven baked on 425 instead of broiler as have troubles with broiler - for the final stuffed peppers cooking with cheese. Tasted great. Just not something I would have picked, and instructions were a little lacking (confusing at one point).
The spices for the quinoa filling stand out; it had great flavor and just enough spice. I'd cook this again myself. Only downside was the size of the peppers provided; they were so small that we couldn't stuff much filling in them.
Outstanding! I'm not a big fan of quinoa, but you could almost swear it was ground beef, with terrific smoky TexMex seasoning and just the right amount of heat; plenty filling. One of my favorites so far! I was kind of hoping my picky daughter wouldn't like it so I could take hers for lunch the next day, but she loved it too.
These were amazing! There was so much filling--the peppers were truly STUFFED. You just can't beat the amount of food and flavor for the low calorie count in this dish.
Loved the quinoa; it tasted very "meaty" and was perfect with the peppers and pico.
These stuffed peppers were very tasty! The right amount of spice with the simple tangy pico made this a new favorite.
This was delicious. However one of my peppers was mushy and soggy. I subbed in one I luckily had on hand. That Red Pepper Crema is so good, I'd love to buy some to have on hand but you don't sell it. I also added some additional ingredients to the pico.
I was surprised how much i enjoyed this recipe. There was great texture and flavor with the pepper and quinoa.
A great twist to stuffed peppers. The meal tasted great. A few more prep dishes to wash but worth it. I would definitely make this again.
Way better than I thought this would be and I love quinoa! My other half never eats bell peppers and he loves this dish as well!
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